President Jair Bolsonaro had already signaled that he would carry out a ministerial reform at the beginning of next year and some interlocutors already pointed out that one of the portfolios included was that of Tourism. Marcelo Álvaro Antônio was in favor of the establishment of casinos and the sector was apprehensive about his possible departure. It finally happened this Wednesday, December 9th, and Gilson Machado, another defender of the activity, will take his position.
Gilson Machado has already met with Sheldon Adelson, from the Las Vegas Sands group, and at the occasion stated that “there are cases in Singapore of a 99% occupancy rate in these complexes. Las Vegas is another positive example of how, controlled, the model of casinos in resorts can be something important and deserves to be discussed in a serious and transparent way in Brazil.”
It remains to be seen whether in the ministerial reform Gilson Machado will be kept in the position. Bolsonaro's idea was to hand over the Ministry of Tourism to a name indicated by Centrão, a bloc of center and right-wing parties that is part of the president's allied base.
Recently, at a lunch promoted by ABIH-Nacional (Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry), Gilson Machado stated that “we are trying, together with the National Congress, to define the legislation for the release or not of casinos. This is essential. And we need to define together with the trade a model so that the ventures do not become like a bakery, one at every corner,” he said at the time, highlighting the potential for job creation in tourism. "If we manage to do what we have in mind, we will triple the number of foreign tourists received by Brazil by 2022."
Gilson Machado gained notoriety in the government by participating in the traditional live broadcasts of President Jair Bolsonaro playing accordion. He is a member of the tourist trade of Rota dos Milagres (AL) and the Convention Bureaux de Maragogi (AL), having coordinated the transition team of the current government, in the portfolios of Tourism and Environment.
Before assuming the position of president of Embratur, he served as national secretary of Ecotourism and Environmental Citizenship, of the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), where he also held the position of Secretary of Forestry. At the institute, Machado was responsible for implementing the National Tourism Policy regarding the promotion, marketing and support to the commercialization of Brazilian tourist destinations, services and products in the international market.
Source: GMB
